Road reopening hope

The home on Longmeanygate in Leyland

Longmeanygate in Leyland has been closed since a car crashed into a barn conversion on April 5, 2013, making the building unstable.

After a series of adjournments, South Ribble Council officers will face homeowners Stuart Duffield and Lindsay Cavanagh in Preston Magistrates Court on Friday, seeking an order to demolish part of the barn so the road can re-open.

Mr Duffield said he is waiting for insurance money to fund the job, but the council want to impose a time limit, or they will carry out the work.

Local residents have criticised the council as “ineffective, claiming delays have caused great inconvenience and put many out of pocket.

One Moss Side resident said: “If it was in Leyland town, it would have been done and dusted months ago.

“For me, it’s an extra five miles a day. That is an additional cost of over £550 so far.

“Our councillors, who I have written to several times, keep saying it will soon be sorted. They said July last year, then October, then it was March, now it is May.”

She added: “No one I know is expecting a decision at the end of the month – there have been so many false dawns.”

Ward councillor Michael Green said: “I’m as much dismayed as everyone that it’s taken so long, but legal proceedings take time. Lets hope that a satisfactory decision is made in court for the whole community.”

Council leader, Coun Margaret Smith, said: “We are due in court on May 30, when we will be seeking an order instructing the owners of the property to carry out the necessary works to make the building safe.”